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Harlequin Tuskfish Question

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Anyone here ever kept a Harlequin Tuskfish (Choerodon Fasciatus) ???

Just wondering what their temperament was like.

I'm considering adding one to my 180 but I want to make sure he would be a good fit with the rest of gang in there. The tank would provide a pretty suitable home for him, but I want to make sure he would fit in and not be aggressive enough to try to become the dominant fish in the tank, but still stand his ground with the current tangs in the tank.

Thanks

If you take your time to do the research FIRST, you can successfully set-up and keep ANY type of aquarium with ease."Not using a quarantine tank is like playing Russian roulette. Nobody wins the game, some people just get to play longer than others." - Anthony CalfoFishless CycleCycling with FishMarine Aquarium Info [URL="http://saltwater.aquaticcommunity.com/"]

Well, they in the wrasse family so that will tell you something of their behavior. If you can get a good healthy specimen, it may well run the tank. Just plan on replacing your clean-up crew on a regular basis.

I only have a experiance with a few of the smaller breeds of wrasses and they are more "drama queens" than aggressive

If you take your time to do the research FIRST, you can successfully set-up and keep ANY type of aquarium with ease."Not using a quarantine tank is like playing Russian roulette. Nobody wins the game, some people just get to play longer than others." - Anthony CalfoFishless CycleCycling with FishMarine Aquarium Info [URL="http://saltwater.aquaticcommunity.com/"]

Somewhat. The are not so much aggressive as they are intimidating, and as I mentioned before, snails, crabs, shrimp, stars, etc. won't survive with the Tusk. Honestly, the only person I know who successfully kept a Tusk in a reef tank had a 400gal tank to work with. The biggest key to keeping a Tusk is getting a healthy specimen, and that means getting an Australian specimen.

There are two people here where I live that keep them, one is a 400 or 420 gallon FOWLR with larger angels and one is a 180 mixed reef. These two can almost sound like two different fish. In one in the FOWLR has been there for a few years (i think) and is a very shy fish that you don't see too much, but I work guess that is more due to the aggressiveness of two of the angelfish in there. That fish certain is a Australian tuskfish based on the brighter orange coloring on him as well as the darker blue on the back end just before the tail. The other has been in the 180 for around a year and certainly is the boss of the tank but he is also the biggest fish by far in the tank so I would guess that environment helped to develop that temperament. I have not seen this fish, only talked with the owner a few times while at our SW LSF over the past year. I don’t know for sure if it is a Australian or Indonesian version, but it certainly does sound like a Australian as the owner clams it to be.

Based on my research, that does sound at least somewhat accurate

Based on that, I am guessing if I were to add a tuskfish to my 180, he would be somewhere between shy and semi-aggressive. The tangs (for the most part) are peaceful but they have their moments at times when they can be little terrors. I'm really looking for a fish that has the same temperament as your average NHL hockey player, happy to be on the ice playing the game with the rest of the team, but if you cross check them from behind they will be the first to drop the gloves and make sure you don't cross check them again.

I do completely understand what you mean by the CUC. The tuskfish in the 180 reef tank goes through about 12 snails a month. The owner has to add more snails each month when the tank is in complete darkness so they have a fitting chance. With my red carpet anemone already eating snails, crabs, and almost anything else it gets a hold of, I'm not to put off by adding extra snails to the tank each month.

Maybe I will just wait and see how the one in the 180 does over the next year or so.

If you take your time to do the research FIRST, you can successfully set-up and keep ANY type of aquarium with ease."Not using a quarantine tank is like playing Russian roulette. Nobody wins the game, some people just get to play longer than others." - Anthony CalfoFishless CycleCycling with FishMarine Aquarium Info [URL="http://saltwater.aquaticcommunity.com/"]